Rink Damage Riles Officials

Police Patrols Set, Camera Proposed

February 08, 2002|By LIZABETH HALL; Courant Staff Writer

SOMERS — Non-stop vandalism of the town's new skating rink has spurred town officials to have police conduct nightly patrols around Field Park.

Vandals have relentlessly targeted the portable rink for the past several weeks, officials say. The first incident was shortly after the rink was installed Jan. 17, when a stake used to mark its boundaries was driven through the middle of the liner, puncturing it.

Parks Supervisor Michael Provencher said he was able to patch the hole, but he has since found, among other things, sand, which is used as a bed for the liner, tracked and dumped across the water and newly formed ice deliberately tramped across.

``It's been about every night since we set it up that something has happened,'' Provencher said. ``Truthfully, it hasn't been cold enough yet [for skating] or the ice thick enough, but these kind of activities obviously cause it to take longer for the ice to freeze through. It's awful. It just seems that somebody's bent on destruction.''

Provencher is not the only one who is upset.

Besides alerting the Resident State Trooper's office, First Selectman Richard H. Jackson Jr. has authorized Provencher to leave a bank of lights on at night as further protection against the despoiling of his pet project. He is also supportive of Provencher's plan to use a video surveillance camera at the rink. Jackson has, however, discouraged one resident's offer to set up watch.

One such resident, Janice O'Brien, who is eager to break in the skates she got for Christmas, said the acts extend beyond mischief to maliciousness.

``A lot of people were excited about the rink,'' she said. ``There are limited places to go in town. This is safe and fun. I really feel bad that they're targeting it.''